Glimpse
by twilight-aria
Summary: 100 short stories using the prompts from fanfic100, which may or may not be related. [92 Christmas] Gifts were much harder to give now that she'd grown up...
1. 085 She Mere Girls

85 - She

**Mere Girls **

He hadn't thought a girl would _ever_ be so much trouble, and such a source of chaos.

He had Merle, but her own brand of mischief was more related to jumping on him at every opportunity and acting like the kitten she was - always getting into things. At heart, Van didn't mind Merle's chaos because he knew she loved him.

_She_ was another thing entirely. Not only had she nearly wrecked his coronation (but to be fair, he was on her world), but all she seemed to bring was trouble! The visions came true, but they were never _good _visions, and they rarely occurred without bloodshed.

And he would never tell anyone, but he didn't think he could just be a warrior and not care that it was _his_ hands, _his_ skill that brought blood to the surface.

But _her_. At heart, Van was content to deal with Hitomi's chaos (and all of its burdens) because he knew - he _knew_ - he loved her.

He just wished he could be sure that she loved him.


	2. 029 Birth Screaming

029 - Birth 

Hitomi had never really been a screamer. One might consider that girls these days just didn't have all that much cause to scream, but Hitomi's was a unique situation, and certainly no one around her would have begrudged a scream in the situations she had faced (though Merle, despite screaming herself had no such qualms about making fun of Hitomi).

In fact, several people had noted, Hitomi was well within her rights to become one of those 'delicate ladies' who lost consciousness at the slightest provocation.

But as Van well knew, Hitomi was not much of a screamer. It hearity (every 5 minutes, the midwife noted) but otherwise she would just smile at Van, and then at her belly, and give his hand a squeeze.

Van was _not_ wincing of course.

And then, several hours after this cycle, a shrill cry broke the eerie sense of anticipation and two loud sighs were heard.

And then a whoop of joy.

Hitomi meanwhile, smiled all the while, and brought her baby close to kiss.

The heir of Fanelia.

Ilario Goau de Fanel.


	3. 092 A Perfect Gift

**Notes**: _Sainnseal_ is Gaelic for New Year's gift. And yes, I make up my own holidays. :P 

092 - Christmas

Gifts, reflected Merle, were much harder to give now that she'd grown up. When she was a kitten, there had been no qualms about giving Lord Van a cherished toy, a fresh piece of fruit, or a hug for the major occasions, whether it was his birthday, of for Sainnseal, the most important day of Winter in Fanelia.

But Lord Van was 18 now, and she'd - they all were, really - been so busy, that she hadn't even had TIME to think about what kind of Sainnseal gift was appropriate!

Not to mention that while Lord Van presented a generally happy front to his people, Merle was one of the few people who knew just how unhappy he was. Much as she'd tried to deny it, with Hitomi gone, Lord Van just did not seem happy at all.

And suddenly, Merle had a _wonderful _idea. It absolutely had to work! And it would be the perfect gift for Lord Van, and he would always love her for it (not that he wouldn't anyway, she reminded herself).

And so it came about, that the night before Sainnseal, Merle snuck (rather stealthily, she felt, as he hadn't even stirred) into Lord Van's room and stole the pendant from around his neck.

And wished, and wished, and wished.

The next morning, while Lord Van was been sitting in the dining room eating breakfast, Merle, disappointed, had decided that if Hitomi was not going to show up even though she'd wished _so_ hard, that she would just have to pretend to be immature and hug Lord Van for his Sainnseal present.

Sneaking into the dining room, Merle stopped in shock as she glimpsed the person beside her Lord Van, who had honey-brown hair (it was longer, she noted later) and bright green eyes, who was smiling at him.

Hitomi was here - On Gaea! Her wish had worked!

She hugged Lord Van anyway, and excitedly explained that _this_ was her gift, and handed back the pendant without a hint of sheepishness.

As Merle exuberantly cheered them, Van and Hitomi shared a smile.

After all, Merle didn't have to know they'd been planning for this, right?

* * *

Comments are adored! 


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